Beverage makers seek gov’t okay to import sugar

Local beverage producers are asking the government to allow them to import sugar on their own to cover their requirements.

In an interview with newsmen, Alfredo M. Yao of Asiawide Refreshments Corp. argued that food processors should be allowed to import on their own to enable them to lower their manufacturing cost.

"Government should allow end-users to import directly from abroad. At present, we have to buy at the market since we cannot import," Yao said.

Food processors, Yao added, "should also be allowed to import and not only the traders who would only dictate the prices in the end."

Asiawide Refreshments Corp., is the manufacturer of RC Cola and Zest-O.

Yao explained that allowing end-users like beverage producers to import would significantly help in bringing down the cost of sugar which is one of the major ingredients in beverage production.

Yao pointed out that beverage manufacturers cannot just raise their prices because the cost of their ingredients has gone up. "If you increase your prices, you kill your brand," Yao said.

Yao assured that the importation of sugar at this time would only be a temporary measure.

Yao also argued that the 50,000 metric tons imported by the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) is not enough to make a significant impact on local prices of sugar.

The 50,000 metric tons is equivalent to only one million bags of sugar.

Yao said that Asiawide alone needs 100,000 bags per month of 50-kilogram bag of sugar for its production of Zest-O and RC Cola.